I've posted a competition journal entry for my trip to the Pleasanton Games.

It's available here:
http://www.bagpipejourney.com/journal/competition_24.shtml

(And thanks to everyone who signed up so far.)

Andrew
--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Also please consider letting StJamesBagpipes.com know that you appreciate their
supporting
BagpipeJourney.com!

I've finally posted a competition journal entry for the Loch Lomond Games a week
ago—
things have been pretty busy!

It's available here:
http://www.bagpipejourney.com/journal/competition_25.shtml

Now that it's offseason, aside from trying to practice more, I'm going to try
and finish up
(hoping!) a few articles that have been on the back burner. I'll send out a
notice when any are
ready for human consumption. :-)

Andrew
--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Also please consider letting StJamesBagpipes.com know that you appreciate their
supporting
BagpipeJourney.com!

A new short article with advice for changing pipes bands is now up:

http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/changing-bands.shtml

It's freshly posted as of tonight. Please let me know if you have any
suggestions. There may
be "editing weirdnesses," but I'm too tired to look at it any more tonight!

Andrew
--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Also please consider letting StJamesBagpipes.com know that you appreciate their
supporting BagpipeJourney.com!

For those of you who aren't aware, Bob Dunsire (creator of the Bagpipe Web
Directory and
BobDunsire.com's bagpiping forums) died away this past Monday after a long and
inspirational battle with cancer.

Since I am on the moderator team at BobDunsire.com, I got to know Bob fairly
well, but
like many, I never met Bob in person. (Ironically, a rare trip of mine in August
to
Washington near Bob's home coincided with their family trip away to visit
relatives.)


There are two new pages related to Bob on my site.

One, my interview with Bob for The Voice magazine last year:
www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/bobdunsire.shtml

Second, a page with a couple of compositions by Gord MacDonald in Bob's honor:
www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/bobdunsire-tribute.shtml


Unrelated to Bob Dunsire, there's now a index of piobaireachd tunes that are
located in
classic collections. If you need to find where a piobaireachd is located, this
page may help:
www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/piobaireachd-index.shtml

And one more page, that's going to be getting some editing when I get a
breather, is a list
of winners of the Gold Medal (Oban/Inverness):
www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/gold-medal.shtml
The above page may be expanded to include Clasp winners too, we'll see.


Rest in Peace, Bob. (His funeral was today.)

Andrew
--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
alenz@...
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

To receive notices of additions to BagpipeJourney.com, sign up:
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/bagpipejourneynews/

Also please consider letting StJamesBagpipes.com know that you appreciate their
supporting BagpipeJourney.com!

If you are fortunate enough to own a horse hair sporran, I've just added a page
on my site
about how to care for them:

http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/horsehair-sporran-cleaning.shtml

As always, if you happen to notice any typos have any suggestions, etc., please
let me know.

Andrew

--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Please consider letting StJamesBagpipes.com know that you appreciate their
supporting
BagpipeJourney.com!

Belated 'happy new year' to everyone!

Since we are in the midst of the winter season and at the request of reader of
my site, I've
written up a new article with advice on performing in the rain.

http://bagpipejourney.com/articles/playing-bagpipes-rain.shtml

As always, if you happen to notice any typos, have any suggestions, etc., please
let me
know.

I have about a half dozen other articles in wings, it's just a matter of
balancing practice for
the upcoming season and writing/research time. (Plus ongoing moderator duties at
BobDunsire.com!)

Andrew

--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Please consider letting StJamesBagpipes.com know that you appreciate their
supporting
BagpipeJourney.com!

I have a new page discussing what to look for in a well-made set of bagpipes . .
. or, more
specifically, the signs of a poorly made bagpipe! Not a lot of verbiage, but
definitely some
educational photos:

http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/quality-bagpipes.shtml

Suggestions welcome, or if your pipes have some manufacturing defect not seen on
my page,
I'd like to know about it.

Andrew
--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Also please consider letting StJamesBagpipes.com know that you appreciate their
supporting
BagpipeJourney.com!

I have been asked often enough about appraising bagpipes that I've written up an
article
about it:

http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/appraisal-bagpipes.shtml

As always, if you happen to notice any typos, have any suggestions, etc., please
let me know.

Andrew
--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Also please consider letting StJamesBagpipes.com know that you appreciate their
supporting
BagpipeJourney.com!

Hello Everyone!

Just a quick update on things. I did compete at the Mt. Tamalpais Competition in
May, but
due to carpal tunnel problems, I've been a bit slow typing it up . . . that and
it's a bit
depressing! Of course, I'll send out a note when the journal entry is online.
The doctor said
it's CTS but not severe enough for surgery. So no pipes for a while and I've
been cutting
back on computer time. I've been off the pipes since the week of the Mt. Tam
games.
Frustrating.

This month, we've gone from one big sponsor, Sandy St. James, to three sharing
the
sponsorship:
http://www.StJamesBagpipes.com - Sandy St. James
http://www.ToneCzar.com - Christopher Hamilton
http://www.Piping.on.ca - Jim McGillivray

Please consider making your purchases from these folks and if you do, please
tell them
you appreciate their support of BagpipeJourney.com.

Today at the Monterey Scottish Festival, I finally had the opportunity to meet
Willie
McCallum and Lorne Cousins. (Also I met Roddy MacLeod for the second time.) They
were
in Northern California for a piping school (run by the National Piping Centre)
and stayed to
judge at the local games. They were quite nice and willing to take some time to
chat. Willie
mentioned that this venue was his first actual games in the U.S.---plenty of
schools, etc.,
but first games.

I skipped competing at the Campbell Games and Monterey, but hopefully, my hands
will
be back to health in time for the Pleasanton Games around Labor Day. Time will
tell.

To those of you in the USA, I hope you had a great 4th. And to all, I hope you
have a great
weekend!

Andrew
--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
alenz@...
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Hello Everyone,

I just uploaded a new page listing all the Clasp winners at the Northern
Meeting. I had the
information already and just needed to format it and upload it—not all that much
work
and someone did ask again, after all:
http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/clasp-winners.shtml

Someone asked for Norther Meeting Open winner results and I don't have any
historical
information for that. If someone has, please let me know. Also I'd love to get
tunes and
judges for all the winners (Gold Medals, Clasp) . . . just throwing that out
there.

For the curious, I'm still not back on the pipes yet, still experiencing
uncomfortable
sensations in my wrists. I've been doing a few minutes of practice chanter here
and there
just to keep myself sane. I'm really missing playing right now. I just have to
take it easy
and give it time.

And no, I  still haven't typed up the Mt. Tam journal entry yet. My mind revolts
at
(somewhat painful) typing that much at one sitting, so I've been putting it off.
I just need
to get it into my head to do it in pieces. Maybe this week.

Andrew

--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Please consider letting my sponsors know that you appreciate their supporting
BagpipeJourney.com!
http://www.StJamesBagpipes.com - Sandy St. James
http://www.ToneCzar.com - Christopher Hamilton
http://www.Piping.on.ca - Jim McGillivray

It's been months since I've last sent out a notice, but I wrote up a new article
this week. It's
not going to be of much interest to anyone past the basics of piping, but it's
meant to
address questions I get from people who have a new set of bagpipes and don't
know how
to set them up.

http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/new-bagpipes-to-play.shtml

It's "fresh off the presses", so to speak, so critical eyes and brains will be
appreciated for
suggestions as well as catching typos, etc. I invariably write these things late
a night, not
the best time for alert brain function! I feel there's something that I'm
missing so feel free
to let me know if you think of any omissions.

For those of you who don't know, as of last November, I'm now the Editor for
WUSPBA's
quarterly newsletter 'Words & Music'. The first issue of my watch was published
a few
weeks ago. As a little bonus, I'm including the link to the newsletter here.
It'll be publicly
posted on the WUSPBA site soon. (The URL has already been sent to all the WUSPBA
members). I believe the judge and band interview would be of interest to those
outside of
our association.
http://www.wuspba.org/wam/2008-Winter-WordsMusic.pdf

Some have asked if I've recovered from the issues with my hands and wrists. The
short
answer: not yet. The day I was supposed to see a specialist (finally!) I had a
100+F degree
fever, so it's been rescheduled for next month. I'm still doing a little
practice chanter here
and there, but my time on the full set of pipes has been minimal. It's been
frustrating, but
I have hope yet.

Best wishes to all,
Andrew
--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Please consider letting my sponsors know that you appreciate their supporting
BagpipeJourney.com!
http://www.StJamesBagpipes.com - Sandy St. James
http://www.ToneCzar.com - Christopher Hamilton
http://www.Piping.on.ca - Jim McGillivray

Last night, I finished up a new article that I started almost two years ago. Not
that I worked
on it that hold time, just off and on, here and there---mostly off! Anyway, it
covers the use
of drone ribbons as well as making and installing them.

http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/drone-ribbons.shtml

Suggestions, comments, typo reports, etc. always welcome.

Andrew
--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Please consider letting my sponsors know that you appreciate their supporting
BagpipeJourney.com!
http://www.StJamesBagpipes.com - Sandy St. James
http://www.ToneCzar.com - Christopher Hamilton
http://www.Piping.on.ca - Jim McGillivray

Hello Everyone,

I just uploaded a new page listing all those who have earned the Piobaireachd
Society Gold Medal
(Canada) for the last three decades.
http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/results/gold-medal-canada-results.shtml

Major Archie Cairns, who helped start the event back in the early 1970s,
provided the list to me
today. (Someone e-mailed me asking for the list only this morning, Archie did
fast work!) I
edited up an introduction which may change over the course of the next week, but
at least it's
up.

As for me, I'm still not back on the pipes yet. Frustrating. I'm still
experiencing uncomfortable
sensations in my hands though it's somewhat better than months ago. A few
minutes of practice
chanter semi-regularly is my limit, though I bring out the pipes every few
months for a run-
through regardless. A neurologist did a nerve conduction test on me a few months
back and said
it didn't qualify as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, so that was good news. I'm off to
the doctor
tomorrow, we'll see how it goes.

I'm still heavily involved in the piping community, I just ran a solo piping
competition on
Saturday. I'm still WUSPBA Webmaster and am on the moderator team at
BobDunsire.com---at
least I get some piping "fix"!

I have a few new pages that I am still working on, hopefully I'll finish up one
or two in the not
too distant future.

Andrew

--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Please consider letting my sponsors know that you appreciate their supporting
BagpipeJourney.com!
http://www.ToneCzar.com - Christopher Hamilton
http://www.Piping.on.ca - Jim McGillivray
http://www.StJamesBagpipes.com - Sandy St. James
http://www.MooseBagpipeProducts.com - Ian and Rebecca Lyons
http://www.LandMHighland.com - Joe and Peggie MacLean

Hello Everyone,

I just uploaded a new page discussing finding a good spot to practice your
bagpipes
without annoying anyone:
http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/where-bagpipes-practice.shtml

Suggestions are welcome.

I have a couple other articles that I'm hoping to finish up in the next couple
months.

For those of you in the USA, I hope you had a good Thanksgiving Day today.

Andrew

--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Please consider letting my sponsors know that you appreciate their supporting
BagpipeJourney.com!
http://www.ToneCzar.com - Christopher Hamilton
http://www.Piping.on.ca - Jim McGillivray
http://www.StJamesBagpipes.com - Sandy St. James
http://www.MooseBagpipeProducts.com - Ian and Rebecca Lyons
http://www.LandMHighland.com - Joe and Peggie MacLean

Hello Everyone,

One of my obligations to the piping community is as editor for the Western
United States Pipe Band Association's newsletter, Words & Music. The last issue
included an article by Lorne Cousin (judge, instructor, performer) on how to
improve playing MSRs (March, Strathspey, Reel). Lorne gave me permission to
include his article on my website.

His article:
http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/MSRs-playing-tips.shtml

I'm working on a few of my own articles (I've always got something cooking), so
hopefully I'll be announcing one of those in the near future. Between real work,
kids, helping moderate the BobDunsire.com forums, webmastering WUSPBA.org, I
really haven't had much time for my own projects.

In case anyone is wondering, my own playing has been continuing to be severely
limited due to ongoing wrist soreness. I'm losing hope that solely time will
heal this issue and coming to the realization that I'm going to have to be more
proactive seeking specific treatment in addition to the little medical help I've
received so far. I did do some piping at a Burns Dinner a few months ago, which
I really enjoyed.

Best wishes everyone!
Andrew

--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Please consider letting my sponsors know that you appreciate their supporting
BagpipeJourney.com!
http://www.ToneCzar.com - Christopher Hamilton
http://www.Piping.on.ca - Jim McGillivray
http://www.StJamesBagpipes.com - Sandy St. James
http://www.MooseBagpipeProducts.com - Ian and Rebecca Lyons
http://www.LandMHighland.com - Joe and Peggie MacLean

Hello Everyone,

I just uploaded a new page discussing how to learn to march for competition and
band:
http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/learning-to-march.shtml

As always with new articles, suggestions are welcome.

For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, I hope you are having a good
summer!

Andrew

--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Please consider letting my sponsors know that you appreciate their supporting
BagpipeJourney.com!

http://www.MooseBagpipeProducts.com - Ian and Rebecca Lyons
http://www.LandMHighland.com - Joe and Peggie MacLean
http://www.ToneCzar.com - Christopher Hamilton
http://www.Piping.on.ca - Jim McGillivray
http://www.StJamesBagpipes.com - Sandy St. James

Hello Everyone,

I just uploaded a new page listing all the Grade I and Grade II bands in North
America.
http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/northamericanpipebands.shtml

It should be very accurate, but if you know any different, please let me know.

I wasn't planning on doing this page, but the work was already done for some
ANAPBA research as was asked to do, so it seemed a waste not to make it
available!

For those of you in the US and Canada, I hope you had a good Thanksgiving Day.
(Canada a bit longer ago!)

Happy piping!
Andrew

--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Please consider letting my sponsors know that you appreciate their supporting
BagpipeJourney.com!

http://www.MooseBagpipeProducts.com - Ian and Rebecca Lyons
http://www.LandMHighland.com - Joe and Peggie MacLean
http://www.ToneCzar.com - Christopher Hamilton
http://www.Piping.on.ca - Jim McGillivray
http://www.StJamesBagpipes.com - Sandy St. James

Hello Everyone,

I just uploaded a new page reviewing the new Ghillators ghillie brogues:
http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/reviews/ghillators-review.shtml
(Imagine a Crocs version of brogues, and you'll just about have the general
concept.)

I wish you all a wonderful 2010!

Andrew

p.s. I'm on Facebook these days, feel free to look me up if you are into such
things.

--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Please consider letting my sponsors know that you appreciate their supporting
BagpipeJourney.com!

http://www.LandMHighland.com - Joe and Peggie MacLean
http://www.ToneCzar.com - Christopher Hamilton
http://www.MooseBagpipeProducts.com - Ian and Rebecca Lyons
http://www.Piping.on.ca - Jim McGillivray
http://www.StJamesBagpipes.com - Sandy St. James

Hello Everyone,

I just uploaded a new page discussing artificial means of breaking-in new
chanter reeds:
http://bagpipejourney.com/articles/mechanical-chanter-reed-breakin.shtml

Suggestions always welcome.

:-)
Andrew

--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Please consider letting my sponsors know that you appreciate their supporting
BagpipeJourney.com!

http://www.LandMHighland.com - Joe and Peggie MacLean
http://www.KinnairdBagpipes.com - Rob & Rauncie Kinnaird
http://www.MooseBagpipeProducts.com - Ian and Rebecca Lyons
http://www.Piping.on.ca - Jim McGillivray
http://www.StJamesBagpipes.com - Sandy St. James

Hello Everyone,

I just uploaded a new page discussing how to bagpipe for competing drummers:
http://bagpipejourney.com/articles/piping-for-competition-drummers.shtml

Suggestions always welcome.

Andrew

--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Please consider letting my sponsors know that you appreciate their supporting
BagpipeJourney.com!

http://www.LandMHighland.com - Joe and Peggie MacLean
http://www.KinnairdBagpipes.com - Rob & Rauncie Kinnaird
http://www.MooseBagpipeProducts.com - Ian and Rebecca Lyons
http://www.Piping.on.ca - Jim McGillivray
http://www.StJamesBagpipes.com - Sandy St. James

Hi Folks,

The subject is a little misleading, it's not a complete full-on article, it's
more of an introduction and list of those who have been awarded this medal. If
you aren't familiar with the Balvenie Medal or are just curious, read here:
http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/results/balveniemedal-winners.shtml

Also, congratulations go to Faye Henderson (daughter of Murray Henderson), who
won the Oban Gold Medal today. She's the first woman to win the medal and she's
only 18-years-old. We can likely look forward to many great years of piping out
of this young woman. Her name has been added to the list of winners:
http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/gold-medal.shtml

Andrew

Hi Folks,

So, if you are a bagpipe instructor or are considering it soon, you may find
this new article on methods of bolstering the number of your students helpful:
http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/finding-bagpipe-students.shtml

Since I last sent out a message, I was appointed the Executive Secretary of
WUSPBA. While it's another hat, I was told by the WUSPBA president I had to give
up webmaster and newsletter editor duties. The end result is a bit more time on
my hands . . . I've gone from giving up some sleep to a full night's rest—most
of the time!

As always, I have more articles up my sleeve and, hopefully, I'll get some time
to work on them in the not too distant future.

Oh, and if you have any suggestions about the new article, feel free to drop me
a note.

Andrew

--
Andrew T. Lenz, Jr.
www.BagpipeJourney.com - Reference for Bagpipers
Santa Cruz, California U.S.A.

Please consider letting my sponsors know that you appreciate their supporting
BagpipeJourney.com!

http://www.KinnairdBagpipes.com - Rob & Rauncie Kinnaird
http://www.Piping.on.ca - Jim McGillivray
http://www.StJamesBagpipes.com - Sandy St. James
http://www.MooseBagpipeProducts.com - Ian and Rebecca Lyons
http://www.LicenseToKilt.com - Drew McLuckie